Policy Lessons from the Coastal Brownfield Development of Fields Point, Providence, Rhode Island

Policy Lessons from the Coastal Brownfield Development of Fields Point, Providence, Rhode Island

Save the Bay, Inc., of Providence, Rhode Island, received EPA funding in 2005 as part of the Smart Growth Brownfield grant program. This program supports community efforts to integrate smart growth principles and practices into brownfield redevelopment efforts. The funding helps communities examine the regulatory climate for redevelopment of brownfield, infill, and vacant properties. Under this cooperative agreement, Save the Bay reviewed existing regulations, analyzed the history of its own redevelopment project, and conducted discussions with local and statewide stakeholders interested in improving the climate for coastal brownfield redevelopment. Save the Bay's work on coastal brownfield redevelopment is of particular importance since there is an overlap of regulations influencing development patterns on these coastal sites. State implementation of the Clean Water Act, the Coastal Zone Management Act, regulations related to brownfield redevelopment, and local codes and ordinances all influence redevelopment activity on coastal sites. The products from this work, released in 2006, highlight these overlaps and provide a set of "lessons for policy-makers" that can help improve the climate for redevelopment that benefits communities, the local economy, the environment, and public health.

Save the Bay produced a study analyzing the regulatory and policy context for redeveloping coastal brownfields in Rhode Island. The study begins with Save the Bay's own experience developing the Save the Bay Center on the Fields Point site in Providence. It reviews the regulatory climate for coastal redevelopment through the state implementation of the Coastal Zone Management Act and the Clean Water Act, the implementation of the state's brownfield program, and development policies and ordinances implemented by local governments. The analysis identifies eleven policy lessons decision-makers can learn from to support development patterns that provide better economic, environmental, and community outcomes.